Structure
The other orders in Freemasonry such as the Royal Arch Chapter are capitulary in nature and have evolved to concentrate on particular aspects of Masonic philosophy. A Freemason’s membership to any other order depends upon his membership to the main body of Freemasonry known as Craft Masonry.
The highest degree in Freemasonry is the Master Masons degree or third degree. This degree is normally obtained by every Freemason within the first twelve to eighteen months of joining the fraternity. Once this degree has been obtained, the Master Mason is fully informed of all decisions made by Grand Lodge and indeed, is active in the voting process taken by all members on constitutional matters at the regular communications of Grand Lodge.
Degrees taken after the third are actually lateral and the ascending order or number ascribed to them really only indicates a path taken to pursue a particular philosophical avenue that appeals to an individual mason. It seems that many people are aware that there is thirty-three degrees in Freemasonry. To state this as an absolute fact would in truth prompt considerable debate among Freemasons as to what does or does not constitute an official degree. Be that as it may however, it does not follow that a thirty-third degree Mason is higher in rank than a Master Mason. The rank of thirty-three degrees is only of any real significance in the particular order or avenue of Freemasonry to which it applies.
A good example would be that to obtain the highest rank in Freemasonry, that of Grand Master, the third degree is the highest numbered degree required for the office. The thirty-third degree is however, absolutely no qualification for any Grand Lodge office. To say that those who hold the thirty third degree are privy to any secret knowledge or information on the proposed destiny of Freemasonry is an absolute nonsense and a practical impossibility.
It is often disappointing for the detractors of Freemasonry to learn how the fraternity is actually governed. In the case of Western Australia, which is a sovereign body in Freemasonry, it is governed by a Board of Directors to manage the financial affairs of Grand Lodge and there is a Board of General Purposes, which presides over all matters pertaining to the ceremonial component of the fraternity. Any member who has obtained the rank of Master Mason is eligible to stand for the democratic elections, which decide the board’s compositions.
There is no ivory tower in a secret building where mysterious old men plot the course of Freemasonry without the knowledge of the mislead majority, no matter how much some people want to believe it to be so.
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